Tiger Mom Actually Soft and Fuzzy Kitty Cat

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Or not. Or who cares? Ms. Chua did an interview that seemed to attempt to soften her image in advance of the publication of her book. And maybe she is a fine person–in fact I’m fairly certain she is–but I’m more interested in drawing your attention to the little tidbit of false equivalency at the end of the article, which comes in the form of a reader’s survey.

“Which style of parenting,” it asks, “is best for children?” The two options: “Permissive Western Parenting” and “Demanding Eastern Parenting.”

The choice when there is no choice is not to choose.

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About Theodore

Theodore Ross is an editor of Harper’s Magazine. His writing has appeared in Harper’s, Saveur, Tin House, the Mississippi Review, and (of course), the Vietnam News. He grew up in New York City by way of Gulfport, MS, and as a teen played the evil Nazi, Toht, in Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation. He lives with his son, J.P. in Brooklyn, and is currently working on a book about Crypto-Jews.

2 thoughts on “Tiger Mom Actually Soft and Fuzzy Kitty Cat

  1. She was on NPR’s always annoying Tell Me More [actually, don’t!] yesterday, where they were kind of grilling her, and she was trying to spin the whole thing as a cautionary tale of parental enlightenment.

    The hilarisaddest part was when the author of no less than Mommy Wars, Leslie Morgan Steiner, called her out as a pot-stirring, abusive narcissist.

    All in all, good times in the school pickup lane.

  2. Pingback: A Week on the Wagon: Asian Xenophobia Edition | DADWAGON

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